Walkaway is a small town in the

City of Greater Geraldton The City of Greater Geraldton is a local government area in the Mid West region of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth on the Indian Ocean. It covers an area of , and its seat of government is the town of Geraldton. It was e ...

local government area of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. At the , Walkaway had a population of 270. Its name is a corruption of , referring to the bend in the nearby Greenough River, and was originally given to the railway station when a line was built from

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri language, Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu language, Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West (Western Australia), Mid West region of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. As of the , Geraldt ...

in 1887.

Rail

In 1894, Walkaway was linked with the Eastern Railway at

Midland Junction Midland is a suburb and historic town of Perth, Western Australia, located northeast of Perth's central business district. It is the administrative seat and commercial centre of the City of Swan local government area. It is also a designate ...

, east of Perth, by a private

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

railway constructed by the

Midland Railway Company The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

. With the railway and an expanding agricultural area, the township grew. Decline set in with labour shortages associated with the First World War and the construction in 1915 of the parallel state government-owned Northern Railway, to the east of the Midland Line.

Renewable energy

A number of

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

generation projects are located near Walkaway. In 2014, projects produced 162MW of electrical power. Additional projects along with upgrades to current projects are scheduled for construction. The Mid West region is identified as a potential location for developing renewable energy technologies that include additional wind and solar photovoltaic electricity projects, solar thermal, geothermal, bioenergy, and ocean energy. Geraldton Wind Farms DSC04308

Walkaway Wind Farm

The Walkaway Wind Farm, east of Walkaway, was completed in August 2005. It consists of 54 turbines, each producing , high, and with blade spans. Development consent has been given for an expansion of the project to up to 400MW.

Mumbida Wind Farm

The Mumbida Wind Farm, east of Walkaway, is a 55MW renewable energy project developed by a joint venture of Verve Energy and Infrastructure Capital Group (ICG). Mumbida was completed in 2013 and is now fully operational. Mumbida Wind Farm utilises the 2.5 MW General Electric 2.5xl wind turbines, the first time that this model of wind turbine has been used in Australia. The Mumbida wind farm has been designed to be expanded to 85MW in the future.

Greenough River Solar Farm

The Greenough River Solar Farm is the first stage of a 40MW solar photo voltaic (PV) electricity generator. Stage 1 currently produces 10MW and was commissioned in 2012. At the time of commissioning, it was the largest solar PV generator in Australia. Construction of Stage 2 is scheduled to begin in 2014 and will add an additional 30MW to the project, located east of Walkaway and southeast of Geraldton, on the Walkaway-Nangetty Road.

Rail

Renewable energy

Walkaway Wind Farm

Mumbida Wind Farm

Greenough River Solar Farm

References

Further reading